Pyramids

(Newser) -
Scientists scanning and mapping the Giza pyramids say they've discovered that the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the world's Seven Wonders, is a bit lopsided. And really, just a bit. The pyramid's exact size has stumped experts for centuries, as the "more than 21...
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Andrej Ciesielski has the photos to prove it, though cops tried to delete them

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"I can't describe it in words … It was really unbelievable for me. It was absolutely amazing." That's how 18-year-old Andrej Ciesielski describes his incredible, yet illegal, climb to the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza in broad daylight on Jan. 18. The German tourist,...
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Team has collected muons inside Bent Pyramid

(Newser) -
An international team of researchers said Sunday they will soon begin analyzing cosmic particles collected inside Egypt's Bent Pyramid to search for clues as to how it was built and learn more about the 4,600-year-old structure. The president of the Heritage Innovation Preservation Institute says that plates planted...
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Researchers use thermal technology to uncover secrets

(Newser) -
A project to scan Egypt's pyramids for 4,500-year-old secrets is turning up "anomalies" that may lead to hidden passages and more, Discovery reports. Two weeks of thermal scanning have revealed signs of internal cavities and structures in several pyramids and a standout anomaly at the so-called Great...
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He says Joseph built them to store grain

(Newser) -
While some candidates may flip-flop on the issues, Ben Carson—now the most-liked candidate of both parties, per the latest Gallup poll —is steadfast when it comes to one particular puzzle: the Egyptian pyramids. Back in 1998, the good doctor gave a commencement address at Andrews University, a school...
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They can look inside without damaging the structure

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How do you see what's inside an Egyptian pyramid without taking it apart or even "drilling the slightest opening?" With infrared thermography, 3D scans with lasers and drones, and cosmic-ray detectors, scientists said Sunday at a press conference. Forbes translates the latter technology: Scientists will study "how...
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New research helps support amateur archaeologist's findings

(Newser) -
An amateur archaeologist in North Carolina made headlines last year when she claimed to have uncovered long-lost pyramids in Egypt via Google Earth. Real archaeologists have been a bit more skeptical. But Angela Micol says new discoveries help prove her findings, reports Discovery News . Another amateur archaeologist recently did a...
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Illegal cemeteries pushing toward monuments

(Newser) -
Some of Egypt's greatest monuments are facing a threat: encroaching, illegally-built cemeteries. More than 1,000 tombs have been established this year on grounds where building is prohibited, the Guardian reports. "They came and took space for about 20 generations," says the head archaeologist at Dahshour, home...
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Angela Micol uncovers two Egyptian sites online

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Surfing Google Earth can be quite fun—especially when you zoom in and find a pair of possible long-lost Egyptian pyramids. Angela Micol of Maiden, North Carolina, has done just that, spotting a pyramidal shape about 140 feet wide and another, bigger one with mounds roughly 250 feet across. "...
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Numerologists planned to fight 'cosmic forces'

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Egyptian officials have decided to close the pyramids today following complaints over a planned 11/11/11 ceremony that was to happen there. Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities had apparently planned to allow Polish numerologists to gather onsite and battle the “cosmic forces” set to destroy the world next year,...
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Satellites, infra-red imaging identify more than 1K tombs

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An American Egyptologist thinks she’s discovered 17 buried pyramids, more than 1,000 lost tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements, using satellite photos and infra-red imaging. Ancient Egyptian structures were made out of mud brick, which is significantly denser than the surrounding soil, Dr. Sarah Parcak explains in a...
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Tombs found near king's suggest laborers were free workers

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The Great Pyramids of Egypt were built not by slaves, as is commonly believed, but by free workers of such high status that their tombs lie near the king's. The laborers built the Khufu and Khafre pyramids, and the research made public today sheds new light on graffiti describing the...
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4,500-year-oldtomb rediscovered

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The remnants of a 4,500-year-old Egyptian pyramid lost for generations has been rediscovered by archaeologists, National Geographic reports. It's believed to be the tomb of King Menkauhor—who ruled in 2,400 BC—and was found in the midst of a sprawling burial complex at Saqqara, where scientists also...
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New theory on the Pyramids: 'less sweat and more smarts'

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The Egyptians may have used concrete to build the pyramids, an MIT professor suggests, and he's using materials available at the time (and students as his slave labor), to test the theory on a small mock-up of a pyramid, reports the Boston Globe. "It could be they used less...
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New law will demand royalties for replicas of ancient monuments

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Egypt is set to pass a law that would "copyright" the pyramids and the Sphinx, the BBC reports. The law would apply to large-scale replicas anywhere in the world of any ancient Egyptian monument or museum piece. Egypt intends to collect royalties from the duplicates to protect its...
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Stop shivering and fly to Africa's largest city— sans mittens

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Feel free to flee autumn's chill by visiting Cairo, where temps have dropped to a mild 70 degrees. Concierge says to check out the Egyptian Museum for its gold treasures, and Old Cairo, a Roman-era web of tiny streets near the Mosque of Amr Ibn El-Aas—the oldest mosque in...
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